The premise for Condemned is simple and yet it reaches far beyond it’s brief 14 minute duration. The plot revolves around a young woman named prisoner #1031, who has recently been set-up by the warden as a snitch. Fearing for her life, she has not slept in three days. Then one day she is forced to reevaluate her situation when a mysterious blonde is assigned as her new roommate. Unable to trust anyone and suffering from a serious lack of sleep, prisoner #1031 fears the worst. She starts to believe that her new roommate is her executioner.

Content wise, even though this film has many of the staples that one would associate with WIP (Women in Prison) films, it does not have two of the genre’s most enduring assets: nudity and torture. And while some may be dismissive or quick to write this film off for the lack of including these two staples, there are many other areas in which this film more than makes up. Most notable it’s Spaghetti Western inspired score and it’s stark visuals which are reminiscent of the style one would associate with the film noir genre. In fact prisoner #1031′s new roommate, a mysterious blonde, could easily be mistaken for the Femme Fatales that populated so many film noir’s. Besides the film’s score and visuals, another area in which this film holds up really well is it’s deliberate pacing and the performance from it’s cast.